The Christmas Affair
by SusieDiamond
Summary: In the four weeks before Christmas, events occur that will change Jenny and Gibbs' lives forever.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, I own no one. I don't even own three of the seasons of **_**NCIS**_** hidden in my house because someone (who shall remain nameless) refuses to give them to me before Christmas…**

**A/N: This is my first attempt at Jenny/Gibbs so please keep that in mind when reading! That said, I'm very open to constructive criticism so if you have any advice, please feel free to tell me.**

**Also, I came up with this idea today. My plan is; to celebrate Christmas, I'm going to put up a new chapter every week until Christmas that will pick up from the last chapter IF you think it's a good idea. So please let me know if you want me to continue or if you think it's an awful idea.**

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**Four weeks to Christmas…**

Jenny hated Christmas. She wanted the whole holiday over and done with. There was nothing more depressing than compiling a Christmas list and noticing the absence of family from the list of people to buy presents for. Actually, there _was_ something that topped that on the depressing stakes: the thought of having to muddle through the next month alone while every corner turned greeted her with some gaudy Christmas decoration, only to end it all by waking up to an empty house Christmas morning.

Even NCIS hadn't escaped the wrath of tinsel, baubles and an overwhelming amount of red, green, silver and gold. Jenny had walked into the office on Friday only to be greeted by that sight, which was an unwelcome early morning reminder of the lonely holiday ahead of her. The dreaded day was still over four weeks away-why the rush?

The one place she knew would be the most dangerous was the shops. She shuddered at the thought of all of the Christmas trees that would be stuck up everywhere with lights flashing annoyingly, the inordinate amount of decorations that would find their way here, there and everywhere so that no patch of the shops would be spared. And in case anyone dared forget that Christmas was approaching, every shop would have Christmas music bellowing out of it.

Shopping was going to be a nightmare-that was certain. So Jenny decided to get her Christmas shopping over and done with the first chance she got, which explained why she was subjecting herself to the torture of carols and decorations that Saturday morning.

She quickly found what she had in mind for Ziva, Tony, McGee and Abby's presents but one person proved to be more of a challenge. She scoured shop after shop after shop trying to find something she thought Jethro would like, but nothing was good enough. If truth were told, she wanted to find him the perfect present. Something that he would remember long after he had opened it and found a place in his house to put it. Something….well, something that would make him think constantly of _her_. The way she always found herself thinking about him.

After searching unsuccessfully for close to an hour, Jenny let her imagination wander and take control. If she could get him anything without fear of how he'd react-what would it be?

Her feet instinctively led the way to the underwear department of the store she was in and she couldn't help but go over to the selection of Christmas underwear for men she found before her. She knew she would _never_ buy any of them for Jethro but after all of this Christmas exposure, she figured she was entitled to some light relief.

She found herself looking at green silk boxers with little Santa Clauses scattered all over and as she felt the material in her hand, she couldn't help the giggle that escaped her mouth at the idea of Jethro wearing something this ridiculous.

"Personally, I prefer these," a familiar voice said in her ear, picking up a man's black g-string with a picture of a surprised looking gingerbread man decorating the front of the sparse material.

Jenny whirled around to confirm her worst nightmare. Jethro was standing in front of her, trying unsuccessfully to stop the highly amused smile on his face from growing. An instant blush rose in her cheeks knowing that he had caught her looking at this underwear.

"Planning on giving them to someone special, Jen?" Jethro asked, unable to stop the chuckle mingling with his words.

"Are you planning on giving _that_ to someone special?" Jenny asked, indicating the g-string still in his hands. "Your taste in partners has changed a bit, then, hasn't it?"

Jethro smiled widely as he put the gingerbread man back where it came from and Jenny noticed the collection of bags he was holding in his other hand.

"You've been doing some Christmas shopping too, then?" Jen asked, eyeing the bags.

"I thought I'd get in early-beat the rush," Jethro said. "Looks like you had the same idea."

They walked out of the shop together in comfortable silence and Jenny couldn't help but notice how having Jethro with her suddenly made the twinkling of the Christmas decorations more bearable. The bags in her hand suddenly felt lighter and she happily continued walking until she noticed that Jethro had stopped.

She turned and looked at him, his gaze meeting hers and she found herself holding her breath while she waited for whatever it was he was about to say or do.

"Coffee?" he suggested simply, and it was then she noticed they were standing outside a coffee shop.

She exhaled, unsure as to whether she was happy or disappointed. There was something about the way he was looking at her that made her think he might have been about to… No. Of course not. She mentally scolded herself-she was certain that Jethro would never make a move in the middle of a shopping centre. Certain he had no intention on making any move on her whatsoever. She was imagining things, imagining what she wanted to happen.

So she plastered on a smile, nodded her head and the two of them found a table.

"This used to be my favourite Christmas song when I was a kid," Jenny said listening to the music playing after they'd ordered their coffees.

"_O Holy Night_?" Jethro asked, slightly surprised.

Jenny shrugged. "It was my dad's favourite and he'd play it repeatedly on Christmas morning while we opened our presents."

Jethro couldn't help but smile as he imagined a young Jenny ecstatically opening her presents on Christmas morning. He'd be willing to bet anything that she'd worn pigtails or plaits. "And now?"

"It doesn't matter, does it?" Jenny said with a sad smile. "The magic of Christmas leaves us all after we reach a certain age."

He didn't know what to say to that. He couldn't exactly defend her statement-he hadn't enjoyed a single Christmas since Shannon and Kelly had died.

"It does," he finally said quietly.

A waiter brought them their coffee and they sat in silence for a few minutes, allowing the caffeine to blissfully infiltrate their systems. Jenny couldn't help but feel slightly guilty at the change in atmosphere. Bringing up her own bitter feelings about this holiday had obviously reminded Jethro of all he had lost and she couldn't stand to see him in pain. She'd give anything to alleviate just a little bit of that suffering, whatever it took. She settled for changing the mood.

"Any presents for me in those bags?" she asked with a playful grin, her heart lightening considerably as she saw Jethro return her smile.

"You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?"

"Do you really expect me to wait that long? I used to be a damn good agent, remember."

"Yeah, well, I definitely remember you were always impatient," Jethro teased.

Jenny smiled sweetly and surreptitiously edged a foot over to where Jethro's bags lay underneath the table, trying to find a handle to latch onto and drag back to her.

"I seem to remember someone who was even more impatient than me," Jenny teased right back, trying to keep him distracted. "And wanted everything done yesterday."

"Nice try, Jen," Jethro smiled, catching her creeping leg in his hand and gently pushing it back to her side of the table.

She tried not to show how much his touch had affected her, tried not to show that at that moment, it felt like she was sixteen again and there was no one in the world but him and her. She took a bit longer to reply than she normally did, and when she spoke she was pleased to find that her voice held no trace of the impact Jethro had just had on her.

"Ha! So you _do_ have a present for me!" she exclaimed gleefully.

"What makes you say that?"

"You wouldn't care about me looking through those bags unless there was something you didn't want me to see," Jenny said before taking another sip of her coffee.

"Doesn't necessarily mean it's for you, does it?" Jethro teased. "For someone who claims not to like Christmas, you sure are interested in presents, Jen."

"It's a female thing, you wouldn't understand," Jenny replied.

A smile appeared on Jethro's face and Jenny had the distinct feeling that it had nothing to do with what she just said.

"What?" she asked suspiciously with a frown.

Jethro's smile deepened and he leaned over the table, stretching out his hand to swiftly wipe away the foam that had rested on the top of Jenny's lip. His touch sent thrills down her spine and although neither broke eye contact the whole time, the playful smile on Jethro's face and the frown on Jenny's had vanished.

"There was some foam above your lip," he explained, sitting back into his chair while trying to forget about the current of electricity that had undoubtedly ran between them. What did they say about old habits? That they died hard? He could say now with conviction that they definitely did.

Jenny nodded, somehow finding herself unable to speak and they finally broke eye contact. The silence between them that had been so comfortable just minutes ago was now charged and unsettling. She took a sip of her coffee, then another and another, each time careful to ensure that nothing had been left above her lip.

A part of her was unable to move past the feelings for Jethro that were currently flooding her. The other part wanted to laugh at herself for behaving like such a lovesick teenager on her first date.

"Christmas hasn't been the same since…" Jethro trailed off but Jenny looked up in surprise, knowing what he was going to say next. He didn't need to finish the sentence, she knew it was about Shannon and Kelly, and she realised with a mix of pleasure and sadness that he had never opened up like this to her about them before.

"It must be awful," she said in a voice filled with compassion.

"Not awful," he replied quietly. "It's just not…Christmas."

She couldn't help it. She reached for his hand that was resting on the table and to her relief, he didn't fight it. He returned her hold and gave her hand a squeeze, running his thumb over her palm. They sat like this for a few minutes, both unwilling to break the contact yet just as unwilling to admit it.

"You're not trying to get my bags right now, are you, Jen?" Jethro asked with a smile.

She released his hand in playful frustration and dragged her leg back from the bag she had so nearly taken over to her.

"You don't expect to fool me that easily, do you?" he said chuckling.

"Just give me a hint, Jethro," Jenny whined, draining the last of her coffee.

Jethro placed his empty coffee mug on the table and surveyed her for several seconds.

"You _really_ think there's a present for you?"

"You really expect me to believe there's not?"

"How 'bout this," he said, "you show me my present and I'll show you yours."

Jenny hesitated.

"Unless, of course, I stopped you from buying my present earlier," he said with a grin, noticing her hesitation and asking a passing waiter for the bill.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't think bright green's your colour," Jenny replied.

"I agree. I think the gingerbread man would suit me much more."

A waitress delivered their bill with a look of confusion, showing she'd obviously heard the last part of their discussion and Jenny couldn't help but laugh. She'd never expected to find _anything _humorous in today's Christmas shopping expedition and yet she'd already laughed several times, each one thanks to the man in front of her.

"There you go," Jethro said, paying the bill. "There's your Christmas present. A cup of coffee."

Jenny couldn't help but give him a sceptical look as they gathered their stuff and got up.

"You doing any more shopping?" he asked.

She contemplated this for a moment before shaking her head. Maybe she'd be able to brave another Christmas shopping trip to find Jethro the perfect present. This trip certainly hadn't turned out as bad as she thought it would have.

"Me neither," he said. "I'll walk you to the car park, then."

"It's about five steps away from here," she said with a smile.

He shrugged and walked her there anyway, and this time not only were the decorations less offensive but the Christmas music meeting Jenny's ears left her wanting to smile rather than wanting to turn and run.

"Have a good weekend, Jen," he said when they reached the car park.

"You too," she told him, unable to wipe away the smile that lit up her face.

"And don't forget my gingerbread man," he whispered in her ear.

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**Should I continue?**

**(Btw I know it's more like five weeks to Christmas than four at the moment, but if I do continue I won't be able to update until the week after next because I'm going on holidays.)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow, I wasn't expecting that response to the first chapter! A huge, huge thank you to everyone who reviewed-I loved reading them! I really hope you all enjoy this chapter, too.**

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**Three weeks to Christmas...**

As much as it embarrassed her, Jenny had to admit it: she'd searched for his present for her. Snooped around his desk when he wasn't there on the off chance that he was keeping it in a drawer to give to her at work one day. Honestly, she hadn't really expected to find anything-he was far too careful to leave a present somewhere she could easily find it. But in the spirit of being honest, she had to admit she was also a little disappointed each time she walked away from his desk empty handed.

Her last attempt had ended rather unfortunately. She spent what must have been at least several minutes thoroughly searching Jethro's desk: she made certain not to read anything lying around but also she also made certain that each drawer was scoured and every inch on and around the desk was investigated. Thinking that the team was busy elsewhere, Jenny crouched down to search underneath the desk. Just as she was contemplating whether or not to check Jethro's bin as a hiding place for presents, Jenny's gaze was drawn to a pair of legs standing several feet in front of her.

The owner of the legs must have been watching her and noticed her freeze because several seconds later, Tony's head was peering underneath the desk.

"Need any help, Director?" he asked cheerfully with what Jenny swore was the cheekiest look anyone could possibly have.

She hastily got out from under Jethro's desk and rose to a standing position again, pulling down her skirt which had become a little too short for her comfort after all of the desk searching. It was as she adjusted her skirt back to an appropriate length that she realised why Tony would have watched her for his own entertainment for so long. A glare settled on Jenny's face that quickly wiped away the mischievous look on his.

"I thought you had other things to do than loiter around here?" Jenny said in the most no-nonsense voice she could muster. With a sense of satisfaction, she noticed that her tone seemed to further sober him as his face adopted an even more serious look.

"I left my cell here," Tony explained, pointing to the phone lying on his desk and quickly grabbing it. "I'll just be off, then."

"Special Agent DiNozzo," she called as he started to walk away.

Tony turned around. Jenny opened her mouth to speak but he seemed to pick up on what she was about to say and got in first.

"I won't tell Gibbs," he said, before shrugging. "It's Christmas."

Jenny nodded and quickly walked away in the direction of her office. Like he'd tell Gibbs, Tony thought to himself, watching her walk away. Christmas was the season for giving and the Director of NCIS had _certainly_ given him a fantastic view this morning. Tony could handle giving secrecy in exchange.

When she returned to her office, Jenny sank into her chair before a slight laugh escaped from her, which quelled the sense of embarrassment she was feeling. She couldn't believe she'd actually been reduced to snooping around a desk in search for a Christmas present when she normally could not stand the holiday.

Jenny couldn't exactly say why she was so curious about Jethro's present for her. She'd always been impatient, she'd always wanted everything yesterday but this was more than that. Knowing that he had picked something just for her somehow brought the smallest bit of magic back to Christmas. It was the only thing that made her hesitate every night before thanking whatever powers there were that she was one day closer to the end of this holiday season.

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The weather was starting to become bitter cold. Jen snuggled up on her couch with some work before her, grateful she'd managed to leave her office at a decent time that night. The cold had been awful getting to and from her car today and she was certain that snow would start falling any day now. Just the idea of having to go outside again made her shiver and want to turn up the heating, even though the house was already deliciously warm. Nothing short of a miracle would be enough to make her venture outside again that night.

She couldn't have been working for more than ten minutes before her cell phone started ringing, and seeing the caller ID, a wave of surprise and happiness hit her. Nothing had changed between her and Jethro after bumping into each other at the shops-maybe there were a couple more smiles, a few more words exchanged between the two of them but if he was calling her in the evening then maybe that meant something more. It wasn't as though they were in the habit of having phone conversations most evenings. And it wasn't as though she'd complain if it was a habit he wanted to start, either.

"Hello?" she answered her phone just a fraction quicker than she normally would have, with her voice just slightly less formal in tone than it normally was.

The lovesick teenager was back, Jenny realised with a mixture of mortification and amusement as she noticed that she was already smiling before he had even said a single word.

"Jen," Jethro said quickly, an underlying urgency in his voice that she was not at all used to hearing, "Ducky's had a heart attack."

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"How is he?" Jenny asked, running up to Jethro the instant she found him.

He shrugged. "Don't know yet."

"My God," she said, collapsing in a chair. "Ducky...I mean, you'd never think..."

"I was talking to him down in autopsy and he just...collapsed," he said quietly, taking a seat next to her.

Jenny looked over at him. His cool, calm exterior had been replaced with a look expressing exhaustion, worry and confusion. He met her gaze for an instant before quickly looking away, as if afraid of what she would see, afraid of what his eyes would reveal.

"I'm going to get some coffee," Jethro decided, standing up. "Do you want some?"

Jenny nodded and watched as Jethro made his escape. She placed her head in her hands; it felt like it was trying to spin right off her body. Ducky-dependable, reasonable, talkative, kind Ducky was fighting for his life somewhere close to where she was sitting. It didn't make any sense. He was supposed to always be around, telling some narrative or another and reassuring people through his wisdom and advice. She wasn't sure how long she sat there with her head in her hands, trying to make sense of anything swirling around in her mind, but eventually she noticed the smell of coffee mixing with the chemical hospital scent and felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

"Here," Jethro said, giving her the coffee as she looked up.

She took the drink and forced herself to have a few sips but as she placed it down next to her, the shaking of her hands was visible. He knew that she would be upset but the sight of Jen's shaking hands really tugged at Jethro's heart. Without saying a word, he reached over and took both her hands in his own, their tremble beating against his secure hold. His touch seemed to have an instant calming effect on Jenny; her thoughts seemed slightly more rational and the trembling of her hands gradually subsided.

"Where's everyone else?" Jenny asked, only just noticing the absence of Tony, Ziva, McGee and Abby.

"They'd all gone home-I thought I'd wait until we know what's going on before I tell them," Jethro explained, as Jenny realised with regret that he'd let go of her hands.

She looked in his eyes for a moment, wanting to ask him why he'd called her and no one else but afraid that the answer would be something as simple as she'd known Ducky longer than the others had. Jethro took another sip of his coffee, resolutely looking straight ahead.

"I didn't even realise I was calling you," he said so quietly she wondered if she'd really heard it. "It was just one of the first reactions I had."

Her hands started to shake again but this time, it was for a different reason. This time, the shaking wasn't from disbelief that Ducky had just had a heart attack. It was disbelief that Jethro had just said the words she was virtually certain she'd heard, disbelief that he may just have expressed that he had something of a need for her. She wanted to slap her hands to stop them trembling or-better yet-have him take them in his own secure hands again but she settled for clasping them in her lap and staring at them.

"I'm glad you did," Jenny said a few moments later. "This isn't something you'd really want to be alone for."

"Depends on who the company is," Jethro said with a smile. "In this case…no. I wouldn't want to be alone."

Jenny returned his smile, forgetting momentarily why they were there waiting around in a hospital.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts while being grateful for the other's company, grateful to have the other sitting right next to them.

"We should've heard something by now, shouldn't we?" Jenny said a few minutes later, a frown creasing her forehead and worry evident in her voice.

"I don't know," Jethro replied honestly.

"Do you know what the first thing I thought was when you told me it was Ducky?"

Jethro looked over at Jenny, awaiting the answer that came almost as a whisper.

"Thank God it wasn't you."

He wasn't quite sure how to respond to that; how to express how touched he was while also comforting her in some way. He settled on wrapping his arm around her shoulders and Jen quickly responded by resting her head on his shoulder.

He didn't know how long they were sitting like that in silence for but eventually, he felt her breaths deepening and lengthening. Sure enough, when he looked down at Jenny, she was fast asleep, blissfully unaware of what was happening around them.

As the time went by, the look of complete peace on Jen's face and the feel of her body sleeping next to his were the only things Jethro could find to distract himself from the fact that there should most definitely have been some news about Ducky by now.

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**We have two options for the next chapter: I'm behind by a week at the moment (a bit scary to think Christmas is in a fortnight-I haven't started my shopping!) so I could either try to get another chapter up this weekend or the story can be short of one chapter and I'll just skip a week somewhere…somehow. So let me know what you'd like, please! **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you again for the reviews! I couldn't bring myself to skip a chapter and this _was_ meant to go up on the weekend but I ended up spending the weekend and beginning of this week sick. Hooray. But I guess it's better to be sick now than at Christmas, right?**

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**Two weeks to Christmas...**

The week passed by in a blur. Jenny felt like a ping-pong ball, bouncing from NCIS to the hospital with an occasional stop back home to get a snatch of sleep. She was living off far too much caffeine and was certain that the exhaustion she felt was etched on every part of her face, but none of that mattered; Ducky was going to be fine. He'd had a major heart attack but the doctors all seemed rather impressed at how quickly he was recovering. It seemed to take no time at all for his eyes to light up mid conversation with Jen before launching into one of his "it reminds me of this time..." stories. The first time she had seen a trace of the old Ducky lying there in the hospital bed, Jenny had felt an overwhelming urge to laugh and cry. They'd come so close to loosing him but every day, she saw more of his former self return. Every day, she became more certain that he wasn't going anywhere.

Work and Ducky had taken up so much of her time that she hadn't even had much of a chance to talk to Jethro, unless it was related to work. They seemed to have developed a knack for choosing different times to visit Ducky, which disappointed her. The less they saw and talked to each other, the more she seemed to think about him. She couldn't count the number of times she'd had to rouse herself from a daydream about the two of them while she was at her desk. It was becoming such a problem that she was beginning to think that it might even be better to put her pride on the line and confess her feelings for him than to let it continue. She'd talked herself into at least waiting until Christmas was over before taking action; Jenny didn't particularly think that adding a possible rejection from Jethro to the depression of Christmas was a wonderful formula.

When the weekend finally approached, Jenny couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Not only could she cross work off her list of things to do for the next two days, but Ducky was returning home as well. Knowing that he was home and well, and that she no longer had to balance work with hospital visits, would take a major load of stress off her. It would also end the continuous arguments between Ziva, Tony and McGee as to whose turn it was to baby-sit Mrs Mallard that night.

It had been tempting to spend the day in bed and just relax after her tiring week but loyalty to her friend won out and Jenny found herself standing on his doorstep just before lunch that Saturday morning.

Ducky greeted her with his usual cheeriness but Jenny looked into the hallway, trying to find someone else there taking care of him.

"I thought you were supposed to be resting?" she asked, a note of admonishment in her voice.

"I have spent enough time resting these past few days to never need to sleep again," Ducky told her firmly, as she walked in. "I sent Tony away the instant I got back. God knows that boy has wasted more than enough time taking care of Mother."

"She must be happy to see you back," Jenny remarked.

"Happy?" Ducky scoffed. "Somebody had the bright idea to tell her I'd gone on a holiday rather than upset her with the truth. Needless to say, she wasn't impressed. She's upstairs sulking in her room because I didn't take her on holidays with me. She's hardly even looked at me!"

"Some holiday you had," Jenny said, a smile twitching on the corners of her mouth.

"God only knows I've had some bad holiday experiences," Ducky said, walking into the living room. "There was this one time-"

"Oh wow," Jenny breathed out, interrupting Ducky as they entered the living room.

Somebody in the Mallard household clearly enjoyed Christmas. The centrepiece of the room was a huge Christmas tree, carefully decorated and filling the whole room with a smell that would forever remind Jenny of her Christmases as a child. In another part of the room, a nativity scene had been constructed and strewn across the room were an assortment of Christmas cards. Jenny couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness at the sight of the room; it reminded her so much of Christmas as she used to know it that it almost made her forget that she was supposed to hate the holiday.

"Yes, Mother is rather fond of Christmas," Ducky told her, taking a seat. "I've had to find a hiding place for our decorations, otherwise I find her trying to decorate the house throughout the year."

Jenny couldn't help but take a step towards the Christmas tree, lift a branch and inhale the fresh pine scent of Christmas. It had been years since she'd experienced that smell.

"Ah, you must have one of those fake trees," Ducky observed. "I must say, I always thought they would be a lot easier than the fuss of watering a tree and then finding a way to dispose of it after Christmas is over. But I could never bring myself to make that transition."

Sitting down in the chair next to Ducky, Jenny avoided his eyes. She didn't particularly want to tell him that she no longer went to the trouble of having any Christmas tree at all but something about her nonresponse alighted Ducky to the truth.

"Ah," he repeated.

"There just doesn't seem to be much point," Jenny said quietly.

"I don't think anybody who saw the way you looked at this tree would agree with that," Ducky said. "You know, you're more than welcome to spend the day with Mother and me."

"Thank you," Jenny said with a grateful smile. "But I'm sure I'll be fine."

Ducky stared at her for several moments before sighing.

"I'm not sure that I should be bringing this up," he began, "but you did know that every time you visited me at the hospital, Jethro would stand outside the door to my room and just stare at you for a several minutes, didn't you?"

"What?" Jenny asked softly, her head snapping up in surprise to meet Ducky's gaze.

"Yes," Ducky said. "Without fail, he would turn up several minutes after you arrived and stand in the corridor. Close enough to be able to look at you but far enough away to be unable to hear anything we said. He'd stay for a few minutes before leaving, only to come visit me minutes after you left."

A frown creased Jenny's forehead as she tried to process this information. She wasn't sure if it was a positive sign that he returned her feelings or an indication that he didn't.

"I shouldn't have told you that," Ducky said gravely.

"Did he mention it when he visited you?" Jenny asked. "Did he tell you why he did that?"

"I think that's a question you should ask him," Ducky said.

"I'm sure Jethro would love that," Jenny said with a chuckle.

"My dear, it's Christmas. Nobody wants to spend this time alone."

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After ensuring that Ducky was resting and perfectly set up for the rest of the day, Jenny made her way to the front door. Opening it, a hand raised to knock on the door almost collided with her face and Jenny took a step back in surprise.

"I should have known you'd be here," Jethro said with a smile. "How is he?"

"Resting, after many protestations," Jenny answered, unable to help returning his smile. "I'd be careful if I were you, though. Mrs Mallard is convinced that Ducky went on a holiday without her. She's already accused me of being the strumpet to whisk her son away from her to some island of sin."

"A strumpet?" Jethro asked, his smile widening in amusement.

"Her word, not mine. All I'm saying is that you don't want to come face to face with her right now unless you have Ducky with you."

"In that case; do you want to go for a walk, Jen?"

She cast a wary eye around the world in front of her. On one hand, it was bitter cold: the clouds filling the sky were the sort of colour that suggested imminent snow. On the other hand, it had been so long since she'd spent some time with Jethro and she might get the chance to ask him about what he'd been doing at the hospital. The other hand made up her a nod, she closed the door behind her and started walking alongside Jethro.

"You look exhausted," he said after several moments of silence.

"Thank you, Jethro," Jenny replied sarcastically.

"I've been meaning to say something about it all week."

Jenny stopped suddenly and turned to face him.

"Apparently, you've had quite a few opportunities to do so," she said firmly, a trace of anger in her voice.

"What do you mean?" he asked, although his face showed he knew exactly what she meant.

"I don't appreciate being spied on," Jenny said, pulling her coat tighter around her as a cold wind rustled past. "For whatever reason."

"I wanted to keep an eye on the two of you. Ducky-well, no prizes for guessing why I wanted to look out for him. But you-we both know you're not good at pacing yourself, Jen. You're looking more tired each day and I just wanted to make sure you were still okay. That's all. I'd only stay for a minute and I could never hear what you were saying."

"Why didn't you just ask me yourself? At work, while I was with Ducky, when I left his room?"

"I knew you'd never give me a straight answer. You can tell a lot more by observing."

"And that justifies spying on me?"

Jethro looked down at the blush forming on Jenny's cheeks: a mixture of the cold and her anger. Her eyes were blazing, almost as if she was waiting for him to tell her something he still hadn't. She'd always been beautiful but the thought crossed Jethro's mind that he couldn't remember the last time he saw her looking _this_ beautiful. Without thinking, he opened his mouth and the words seemed to flow out.

"What if I missed you? What if I just wanted to be near you?"

At that moment, he watched a snowflake land in Jenny's hair. Then another. And another. He wasn't aware of any of the other snowflakes falling around them, only the ones nestling into the red of her hair. Reaching his hand out, he ran his fingers through the softness of her hair, melting any snowflakes he came in contact with through his touch. His hands cupped her face and Jenny gazed up at him, waiting for what she knew must come next.

He started to lower his head before hesitating, uncertain if this was something she really wanted. But her whisper of "Jethro" erased any doubts left in his mind and he brought his lips to hers, closing the distance they had created years ago. His hands wound themselves around her waist, pulling her into him as her hands locked around his neck and their tongues rediscovered corners of the others mouth that time had forgotten.

When they pulled away, Jenny expected to see the same look in his eyes that he used to have after they'd shared a moment. Instead, the smile that had creeped onto her face disappeared as she looked into eyes that were a myriad of emotions and a forehead that was occupied by a frown.

"What?" she asked quietly, not certain if she wanted to know the answer.

His hands disentagled themselves from around her waist. He continued looking at her, but the hint of a slow smile appeared on his face.

"I'd better get back to Ducky," he said simply before turning around and walking back to the house.

The snow continued to fall as Jenny stood rooted to the spot, wondering what all of this meant.

**********************************************

**Oh and just on a random note: there will probably be quite a bit of snow in the rest of this story seeing as it's summer here and I'm really starting to miss the cold weather. A white Christmas would be so nice...**


End file.
